Category: Health

Yes, the title of my blog post is JUICEtified. Because drinking Juice has countless of proven and justified benefits to the body. When I say Juice, I meant fresh fruit or vegetable juice not the one bought in can or packs in the supermarket.

Those commercial juice surely have health benefits too and some are even fortified to give added nutrition. However, most of the tetra juices are very sweet which may not be too good for daily consumption.

I was a coffee, soft drink and alcohol drinker more than a juice fanatic in the past. I love drinking to socialize, relieve from stress and just be with my friends (or my lonesome at times). I even go to Wine Bar offering Wine Buffet for a very reasonable price. I loved Red wine and these wine buffet let me taste red wine from different countries like France, Italy, Romania, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and many others. I also stocked few bottles of wines and spirits in my pad so whenever I have friends coming over, we can enjoy few glasses or so. Or sometimes if I felt so stressed, I just sip a glass of wine then I’m fine.

I didn’t consider myself an alcoholic because I don’t drink wine everyday (or night) and on occasions that I do, I usually don’t allow myself to get drunk. However, towards December of last year, I sort of developed an allergy and according to the doctor the main culprit is alcohol. I thought I’ve eaten a kind of seafood that made me develop the allergy as it is almost simultaneous. I just came back from several back-to-back overseas and trip back home during that time. In one occasion, me and few other colleagues tried some seafood including Stingray. It was my first time to eat that seafood. About 1 or 2 days after, my body start to be itchy.

I remember there was also an occasion that I’ve eaten a lot of fresh oysters in a hotel buffet during Christmas and few days after I got a big red spot in my neck which resembles a hickey so some of my friends try to be naughty and asked me who gave me a kiss mark. LOL.

About 2 weeks ago when my family visited me in Bangkok for a week (which was my last blog post prior to this) , I may also have overeaten meat and seafood plus the very scorching heat of outdoor activities, I suddenly developed rashes in my chest.

Anyway, the doctor said there are certain triggers like food or alcohol but he told me to avoid alcohol if I can.
Seems life has been quite boring for me since then right? However, because I’m a firm believer of the saying “Health is Wealth”, I researched for some ways to live (or eat healthy).

There were a lot of topics in the internet suggesting people to be vegetarian for optimum health. But since I can’t give up crispy fried pork or KFC at this point, I searched for other alternative means.

Then I came across the blog called “Juicing for Health.com“. This blog I can say really convinced me to try drinking freshly juiced veggies or fruits.

The blog generously describes the health benefits of various fruits and vegetables and some helpful consumption tips and suggestions of which fruits or veggies are a good combination.

One day I decided to go to the nearest mall to purchase a juicer. I always had the impression that fruit juicers are expensive. I was very surprised when I realized that a good brand juicing machine costs less than THB 2,000 (approx. USD 64). There was a sale during that time so the discounted price was around THB 1,500 for a Tefal brand machine. Isn’t it really a good deal?

After that I went to the supermarket to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I did my very first “concoction” of Orange and Carrot Juice that night. The taste was really refreshing and I felt my body is starting to detoxify all those bad cholesterol and gut in my stomach with a glass of juice. Ha ha ha. Of course, I’m just exaggerating.

Anyway, I continued reading the blog and got interested to try other varieties to benefit from it’s medicinal promise.

Over the next few days I tried Cucumber, Spinach, Beetroot and Bitter Gourd. Yes, you read it right- Bitter Gourd! This vegetable I believe is probably the most unappealing in terms of taste and texture to a lot of people. But reading the long list of benefits, I got encouraged to try it. Loving the juice of this veggie is an acquired taste. I had to try for few days before I started liking it. Now, I can drink a glass of bitter gourd (from 1 medium size gourd) juice in an empty stomach in the morning to get the maximum benefits. A caution though, you have to start with a small quantity at first otherwise you will have upset stomach the whole day.

I felt lighter, more alert and healthier after a month of drinking different kinds of juice. Since some of the juice serves as diuretic (to flush out toxins from the body), I lost weight a bit so my friends kept asking me why I lost weight. I jokingly told them I became vegetarian which they definitely will not believe me.

To reap the benefits of the juice, it has to be taken consistently (not once in a while). I read many articles about people looking very young and healthy because of regular consumption of these healthy drinks. Of course water must not be replaced by these juices. However, freshly made juice also aids in cooling off especially in this scorching summer. Try watermelon or cucumber and you surely will feel refreshed.

Some people may think that drinking fruit or vegetable juice is actually an expensive habit especially if the fruits are not in season. However, you can be smart enough to select what are in season so it is less expensive. There are a long list of fruits and vegetables you can choose from.

You may ask what is my favorite juice so far. I like Carrot Juice and Cucumber the most. Sometimes I mix them together. I also like Carrot and Beet Root but Beet Root is very potent so you have to put only a small or medium sized bulb for a start.

Yesterday I got a very interesting and funny e-mail from my friend Gly. The e-mail has a title “Are you a Facebook addict?”

It is actually an article posted in Yahoo! News (Philippines) about the signs of Facebook addiction. In summary here are the signs of Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) and my response…. Whoa, they even have a term for this kind of disorder now. Seems many people are categorized into this group.

1. You lose sleep over Facebook. When using Facebook becomes a compulsion and you spend entire nights logged on to the site, causing you to become tired the next day.

Check. I have this syndrome when I just started using Facebook last May and got hooked up in Farm Town (the first App that I spend most of my time with). If you track back my old post about Farm Town addiction, you would know what I am talking about. Luckily, I got over it now.

2. You spend more than an hour a day on Facebook. Lipari said it is difficult to define how much is too much when it comes to Facebook usage, but that an average person need only spend half an hour on the site.

Check. I guess majority of the people using Facebook spend more than 1 hour in this site. Of course you have to consider the number of friends in your profile so if you have many, then more or less you spend time checking their profile, activities, pictures, etc. Internet connection is also a factor. I spend longer time because my internet connection is as fast as a speeding bullet (or should I say an overworked snail!).

3. You become obsessed with old loves or exes you reconnect with on Facebook.

Naah.

4. You ignore work in favor of Facebook. This means you do not do your job in order to sneak time on Facebook.

A big no no…my friends can attest to it. If I am busy at work, I am busy at work and they dare not disturb.

5. The thought of getting off Facebook leaves you in cold sweat. If you try going a day without Facebook and it causes you stress and anxiety, this means you need help.

I guess this is a terrible sign of addiction. No, I don’t feel stressed or anxious if I cannot visit Facebook. Of course, sometimes you worry your crop may wither or whatever things you need to do in Facebook but what the heck, even if it withers or other Mafia’s attacked you big time, it doesn’t cost you real money or physical injuries so why be so bothered.

So in general, I got 2 out of 5..maybe possesses a small level of addiction but should not be a cause for alarm or a quick appointment to a shrink. As what I have said in several of my old posts, this is just a FAD (coincidentally the same acronym for the Facebook disorder) and it will come to pass soon.

Last night, I write in my blog that I had a full drink of Iced Tea and ironed my clothes for a week’s work. Unfortunately, I woke up this morning having fever and runny nose so I am unable to go to work. Actually, I feel I’m going to have fever since yesterday morning when I woke up. But towards lunchtime, I feel a bit better so I did my usual routine without bothering my impending flu.

Surely, independence have its own advantages and disadvantages. However, living in a foreign city with no family to take care and just few friends which have a life and work of their own as well, you will realize living alone is not totally appealing as it looks.

I checked my handphone to find the phone number of the restaurant downstairs so I can just order some decent food for breakfast, and perhaps lunch. Sadly, I cannot find it. I thought I stored it earlier and now the small paper where I wrote down the phone number is gone. Damn..

Since I have no energy to cook a full meal plus the fact that I have no food stock (which I mentioned in my post yesterday), I had no other choice but to open a can of sardines (totally unappealing and unappetizing for someone who is on the verge of catching a flu). Well, I don’t have a choice.

I opened my notebook to check e-mails and try to open Facebook for entertainment. Unfortunately (again) my internet connection is not cooperating. I tried calling the supposed call center but no answer. Well, actually even if I call I will surely get the same answer– that is their server says my connection is working well and I just need to restart my computer. If this is the standard answer they reply to all customers, I suppose they don’t need to hire a person to answer the call but just play an answering machine over and over again. Damm (again).

Seems I am really having a bad day today. Well, not for long. As I plan to have lunch, I realized I still had some okra (lady finger) in my vegetable bin which I used when I prepared pinakbet last week. What I did was boil water and pour into the thin vegetable..and walah..I got a superb lunch.

I had not eaten boiled okra dipped with shrimp paste locally known as “alamang” for I think centuries now and this is such a great way to actually enjoy lunch even when you have no appetite for food. I finished my dish full and satisfied. Indeed I am making the most out of today’s adversities.

Only thing is, I have to think (again) of a good food for dinner..damn. I hate thinking.

After going to the gym and renting computer for 2 hours, I was so thirsty and wanted to grab something cool and refreshing to drink. Too bad I ran out of stock of Coke (which I did on purpose since it will just give me the liberty to drink cola whenever I can since I had it in my fridge anway) and the only thing that I had overflowing is coffee and tea which is not a good choice when someone feels very warm. Finally, I saw the last sachet of Nestea Fit given to me by my Aunt when I went back home last May. One sachet makes one liter so I filled up my tumbler (a liter tumbler I got for buying 30 Baht worth of Pepsi in Central Mall) and put in all the tube ice in my freezer then grabbed my Lay’s potato chips and sat on the floor eating and drinking to my hearts content while I am actually ironing my office clothes for the coming week and watching a US series.

After doing all my chores and finishing the chips and watched 4 episodes of the series, my Iced tea is still half full. I realized I made more than I can consume which is such a waste. Had I made only half of the tumbler, I still can enjoy another round of iced tea on another scorching day/night.

In life, we always want to get the most out of every situation, out of every opportunities. We tend to grab as much as we can, we tend to bite more than we can chew…until we are so full, we cannot take some more..In the professional world, this could be anything from taking a very big and high profile job even if we are not ready to take full responsibility, this could also be taking all projects given to us that we can no longer manage our time and in the end, we can only finish a mediocre product.

In a relationship, it may mean dipping one’s feet in another person’s pool just to test the water, it may also mean jumping into marriage without any preparations (financial, emotional, spiritual), it could also mean giving too much emotional investment that the other person can no longer swallow or on the contrary, the lack of emotion so the other person cannot swallow because there is no “love potion” to make it flow directly to one’s heart.

The key to all of this is moderation. Aren’t we enjoying food better if we savor the smell, chew only half a mouth’s full so we can taste all the flavors and spices rather than biting all at the same time thus, we end up in the toilet with constipation. Life also has to be lived in moderation. It is ok to be competitive or in the active mode but it is very important to know when we have to step on the break or shift gears.

I was trying to catch up with my former colleague through a Yahoo conversation and interestingly, our usual conversation of nonsense and joking around went to Q&A of various points of view, outlook in life and the like. The Q&A is actually brain stimulating and thought provoking..some questions I had not thought of or avoid thinking..Here are some excerpts…note that I am answering the questions like I was being interviewed..

Q: What age do you want to die?A: hmm.. there’s no specific age i want to die..i can die anytime if i serve my purpose

Q: Are you afraid to die?A: I dunno..have not thought about it.

Q: Do you have any regrets in life?A: Regrets…none but there are some what if’s…

Q: I mean do you forgive and forget or indi?A: Forgiving is one thing, forgetting is another.

Q: What are you afraid of?A: I’m afraid of rejection…I’m afraid of heights..hehehe..I’m afraid to grow old alone, penniless and sickly..

Q: Do you think you are a good person?A: Yes..I am a good boy by normal standards…lol.

Q: Do you think someone hates you?A: Yes, maybe. But I dont care if people hate me as long as my conscience is clear

Q: Are you ambitious?A: Yes, I am and I’m working hard for it..

Q: If there is one talent that you would like to have, what would it be?A: I want to be a good singer..I mean when you sing, someone will be insipired, will fall in love..will forget problems.

Q: If there is someone (popular personality) that you would rather be, who would it be?A: Hmm..a difficult question..but I’d rather be Brad Pitt…lol.

Ah ok..well if you dream of something, dream BIG! Ha ha ha!

Q: Are you conscious of how you look?A: Yes, I am..I want to feel good..I want to look good. I want them to say…damn, that man is HOT! LOL.
Looking good is an investment. I regret not going to fitness at an earlier stage..mas mahirap mag maintain..

The world seems in panic due to the escalating cases of influenza caused by a new strain of virus believed to have come from swine but now is being passed from human to human. Epicenter is in Mexico and several cases of swine flu infection were reported in the US, New Zealand, France, Israel, Spain, UK and Canada. Many countries stepped up surveillance in borders as well as airports especially for flights coming from Mexico. At this stage, it seems the world is in for another BIG thing even if the global economic recession has not bade its good bye..economies of many countries continue to sink with stock markets not too upbeat at this time.

Many restaurants, bars, cinemas, schools, museums and churches in Mexico were closed and business were literally put to a halt in some parts to avoid spreading the virus further. This outbreak is expected to give tourism and airline industry a big blow and on a global scale. Tourism industry has always been very volatile and any incident that causes security, safety or health risk always puts this industry on the downturn.

The spread is inevitable…but what we citizens of the world, must do to prevent it to become a global pandemic? Many experts say there are simple preventive steps to safeguard our health against these risks. It includes washing hands frequently using warm water and mild soap or alcohol-based sanitizer, covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing by using a tissue paper and throwing it out immediately after use, avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth, avoiding crowded places, eating nutritious foods and taking supplements to improve health. Moreover, I think it is best to avoid or limit shaking hands, hugging or kissing as we might contract or spread the virus.

Rising population and the ever-changing lifestyle of humans is tantamount to spread of diseases some of them new and unknown to modern medical science. The key to prevention is living a healthy life all the time regardless of nationality, age, gender, religion, work and so on…

The movie “How to lose a guy in 10 Days” starring Kate Hudson and Matthew Mc Conaughey was a hit! It is quite interesting to see how a guy is able to make a lady love him in 10 days time and on the other hand for a lady to lose a guy in 10 days as if she is just disposing a week-old contact lenses to be replaced by a new set…easy it may seem but it is only happening in Hollywood. In reality losing is as hard as a volcanic rock and as imposing as the Burj Dubai Skyscraper.

I enrolled in the gym since last June 2008 and as of this writing, I have never completely lost my oh so stubborn excess fat in my belly..WTF! It’s been 9 months but seems like my belly is here to stay forever. Well to start with, I love to EAT.. and who doesn’t? I am just so fortunate (or is it unfortunate– hahaha! Just kidding guys) to have friends who enjoy life to the maximum level…Enjoying life means having weekly (or is it 2 times a week?) Food meet-ups. When we have meet ups, it’s not the typical 1 or 2 course meal but a FULL, EXTRAVAGANT and BOUNTIFUL feast. We just love Kare-Kare, Pata Tim, Pork Belly Sinigang, Adobong Manok, Daing na Bangus and many other mouth-watering dishes. Then there is also the traditional take-out of foods after the meet-up so after that, the fridge is still full (read: 1 Year supply) of the sumptuous Filipino Food.

Next, after going to the gym at night- I feel so tired and hungry. So what happens is I tend to eat a lot just before my bed time. It is a risky behavior I know cos it is prone to cardiac arrest or pancreatitis but I just simply cannot skip dinner cos I am not a breakfast person. Usually in the morning, I have to rush to the office so I will just have a cup of coffee and just eat heavy lunch or dinner. Even if I force myself to eat breakfast, my body is not used to it so I either feel so full and bloated the whole morning (which makes me too uncomfortable to work) or I just throw up.

Well, going back to the topic…how long had I wished to look good with the flat tummy and perhaps with multi-pack abs. Never in my life have I been able to feel so confident taking pictures in the pool or the beach cos I know no matter how hard I try to cover or no matter which angle I pose, the protruding tummy still wants to be part of the scene 😦

Recently, I see some changes…I religiously go to gym nowadays (at least 3 times a week) and do rounds of cycling plus some weight training exercises. I try to cut my carbs intake and bloat myself with Tea (which I read in the Internet is a very effective way to burn calories or excess fat) as well. I think my waistline reduced by 1.5 inches in the last month. Come May, I want to see a leaner, trimmer ME. I hope I will have the will power to continue this routine. Though it is impossible to lose Belly Fat in 10 Days, I am not losing hope at all.